1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to work holders, and in particular, to adjustable work holders that use a plurality of holders to hold parts in a desired orientation and elevation.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hobbyists who work on model airplanes and the like often work with small parts that need to be glued, painted, tied, popped into place, etc. One drawback of working with small parts is that it can be frustrating to try to find ways to properly secure the parts in position while they are being glued, or to paint or varnish a desired surface and allow it to dry without touching the surface. A hobbyist who needs to paint the underside of a figurine, for example, may hold the figurine in one hand and paint it with the other, then lay it down on a paper towel to dry. This can cause the paint to run or dry unevenly and stick to the paper towel or drying surface.
In the past, a hobbyist who wished to glue parts, such as those used to construct a model airplane, has attached or braced the freshly glued parts together using everyday objects such as rubber bands, paper clips, tape, etc. that the hobbyist happens to have on hand. Attaching or bracing the parts or objects together in this manner is often clumsy, as the everyday objects are poorly suited to properly accommodate the characteristics of the parts. As a result, the parts are often not properly aligned or attached together.
Hobbyists may include children of different ages with different levels of coordination. It is well known that young girls often enjoy combing and styling fashion dolls"" hair, which usually requires the use of two hands; one hand used with the comb and the other hand used to hold a bunch of hair or to hold the fashion doll. If the young girl wishes to braid the hair or adorn the hair with bows or barrettes, two free hands are significantly better than one. While a fashion doll stand can hold a doll upright, it is generally not strong enough to withstand the pressure applied to the fashion doll while combing or hairstyling.
Another common problem for hobbyists is keeping track of loose or fallen parts. Such items, especially screws, have a tendency to visually blend into the work surface or roll off the work surface onto the floor.
What is needed is a hobbyist""s work holding tool that can address all of the above-described issues. Such a tool must have the ability to selectively hold parts of different shapes and sizes in a suspended manner so that the user may view the part at or near eye level and be able to apply paint, glue, etc. The tool must also have the ability to temporarily hold multiple parts in close alignment for gluing or attachment. The tool should also include means for retaining small parts or accessories that may fall from the suspended parts.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a hobbyist""s work holding tool system that selectively holds parts of different shapes and sizes.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a tool system that allows one or more parts to be positioned at different elevations and orientations and can hold them together for attachment.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a tool system that can be used with a wide variety of different part holders.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a tool that includes means to retain or catch small parts or accessories that may fall from the suspended parts.
These and other objects of the invention which will become apparent are met by a hobbyist""s work holding tool system comprised of a grid-like primary base member into which at least one adjustable, flexible arm may be selectively attached at different locations thereon. In the preferred embodiment, the base member is a planar structure that includes a plurality of equally-spaced-apart, uniformly-shaped, vertically aligned peg openings. The flexible arm includes a longitudinally aligned plurality of interlocking ball and socket joint segments which enable the flexible arm to be twisted and disposed at different angles. The lower end joint segment of each flexible arm includes a peg opening attachment means that enables the flexible arm to be selectively attached to a peg opening. In the preferred embodiment, the peg opening attachment means is an elastic bushing that fits snugly into any one of the peg openings to securely hold the flexible arm in a perpendicular alignment over the base member space. Each bushing includes an optional means for adjusting the cross-sectional area of the bushing so that the user may adjust the fitting of the bushing inside the peg opening. Attached to the opposite, upper end of each flexible arm is an adjustable part holder, such as a clamp, vise, or similar device, which attaches to a desired part so that the flexible arm may be used to hold the part in a desired orientation or elevation.
As stated above, each flexible arm is made of a series of longitudinally aligned, interconnected ball-and-socket joint segments (also called xe2x80x9cmodular hosexe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cbeads and pearlsxe2x80x9d in the doll hobby industry) capable of being selectively connected, detached, twisted and rotated by the user so that the part holder may be disposed at the desired orientation and elevation relative to the base member. The connection between the joint segments is sufficiently tight so that the initial orientation and elevation of the flexible arms is maintained when a part is attached to the part holder. During use, each flexible arm may be selectively attached to different peg openings on the base member so that the spacing between the flexible arm and the work piece may be adjusted.
The system also includes an optional secondary base member capable of being perpendicularly aligned and attached to the primary base member. The secondary base member includes peg openings similar to the peg openings used on the primary base member. During use, the flexible arms may be connected to the secondary base member peg openings to enable them to be horizontally aligned over the primary base member for holding a part.
Disposed below the bottom surface of the primary base member is an optional panel member used to close the peg openings and catch small screws or other small items that fall into the peg openings. During use, the peg openings on the primary base member also may be used to temporarily store unused parts or accessories.